Pete,

IMO, I don't think you can overfilter a SW tank. A big skimmer will pull out
some trace elements along with the bad stuff, but that's part of running a
skimmer.

Lots of people will advise you to lose the undergravel filter. They're not
usually recommended for SW.

Personally, I don't think you have a great deal of filtration on that tank.
I have a 29-gallon fish-only, with a 10-gallon DIY wet-dry/sump. I'm using a
Mag 7 for a return, so at about 4' head, I'm pushing around 480 GPH.

For reef tanks, many advocate a flow rate of 10 times the water volume!

Take a look at the many superb aquaria forums on the web. You'll get a lot
of great information.

Hope this helps!

--

To see how I cycled a brand-new 5-gallon tank using household ammonia, take
a look at: http://members.cox.net/gbundersea/aq...on/cycling.htm

Also see my Jensalt sump horror story site:
http://members.cox.net/~gbundersea/a...s/badsumps.htm

Greg Bunch
gbundersea AT cox DOT net
http://www.gbundersea.com
Creator of the Digital Lens Dock,
MXTENDER Optical Strobe Cable System
for the Sea&Sea MX-10, and the Save-A-Lens Kit
for MX-10 and Motormarine



"Pete" wrote in message
...
I am setting up my first sal****er tank. (converted from freshwater)

It is 38 gal

I have 3/4 of the tank with undergravel filter with crushed coral on
top. Using a 145 gph power head

I also have an emperor 280 hang on filter.
I think this is 280 gph ??

I also have a large protein skimmer for a 90gal tank.

I plan on small fish, and hopefully some live rock.